Medicinal package



April 1957 A. L. HINSON EIAL 2, ,0

' MEDICINAL PACKAGE Filed Apg. 22, 1955 I a i I MIVENTORS Z m.4. ALHINS on BY ME SMITH M/ 4 MM Unite MEDICINAL PACKAGE Application August 22, 1955, Serial No. 529,698

1 Claim. (Cl. 128-272) This invention is an improved medicinal package and more particularly, a sealed sterile package capable of maintaining a medicinal solvent and a desired medicinal solute in isolation until use of the resulting solution is desired.

In recent years, there have been many medicines developed, and particularly those administered by hypodermic injection, which are subject to rapid deterioration when stored in the solution form required for their administration. However, these same medicinal preparations may be safely stored for extended periods if certain solute elements are isolated from the primary solvent. To maintain such isolation and to permit the convenient intermixing of the solvent and solutes just prior to administration of the medicinal solution, a number of expedients have heretofore been proposed, including double compartment vials separated by :a frangible partition, such as shown in U. S. Patent No. 1,943,120 to Kabnick, and a piston-shaped capsule adapted for cooperation with the walls of a hypodermic syringe to produce sufficient pressure 'within the syringe to fracture a frangible end wall of the piston-shaped capsule, as disclosed in Patent No. 2,705,956, to H. J. McLaughlin.

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved medicinal package capable of maintaining a medicinal solute in isolation from a medicinal solvent until the time of use and permitting the convenient intermixing of such solute and solvent at the time of use.

More particularly, it is an object of this invention to provide an improved two-compartment medicinal package for hypodermic syringes or the like, which is of simpler and more economically manu-facturable construction than any that has heretofore been proposed.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the annexed sheet of drawings, in which, by way of preferred example only, is illustrated one embodiment of this invention.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a sectional view of an improved two-compartment medicinal package embodying this invention.

Figure 2 is an enlarged scale view of a portion of Figure 1 showing the construction of the secondary compartment.

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 1 illustrating the manner in which breakage of the secondary compartment and dissolution of its contents in the primary solvent is accomplished.

Figure 4 is a sectional view of a modified form of medicinal package embodying this invention.

As shown on the drawings:

The primary container 10, in the embodiment illustrated in Figures 1-3, may constitute the tubular vial commonly employed for insertion in hypodermic syringes. One end of the vial 10 is provided with a fluid type closure plug 11 having a reduced thickness wall portion 12 which is adapted for easy penetration by the end of a hypodermic needle in conventional manner. Alternatively, as illustrated in Figure 4, the primary container may be shaped Sttes Patent similar to an ampul 10a and have one end closed by an integral wall portion 10b and be provided with a constricted neck portion 100, which may bev conveniently fractured at the time of use to gain access to the interior of the container. In either construction, the other end of the primary container is closed by a piston-type closure 13 of rubber or similar plastic material having suflicient rigidity to permit it to be axially shifted relative to the primary container in a piston-cylinder relationship and having fluid sealing proper-ties so that a fluidtight seal is maintained at this end of the primary container. Thus a primary liquid reservoir 14 is defined within the primary container 10 or 10a. This reservoir is substantially filled with the desired medicinal solvent 15.

Additionally, a secondary container 16, which may conveniently take the form of a sealed capsule, is provided and is inserted within the liquid reservoir 14. Container 16 is substantially smaller than liquid reservoir 14 in all corresponding dimensions, so that it is freely movable therein. Hence its exterior dimensions are not critical. The secondary container 16 is preferably fabricated in its entirety, or at least in part, from thin-walled glass or other readily frangible plastic material and, prior to its insertion in the primary container 10 or 10a, it is filled with the medicinal solute which, when dissolved in the solvent 15, will produce the desired medicinal solution. The material I from which secondary container 16 is formed should, of

course, be insoluble in the medical solvent 15 and should be non-toxic and nonpermeable with respect to both the medicinal solvent 15 and the medicinal solute 17. As indicated in Figure 2, such solute 17 may be in the form of a powder, but it is equally conceivable that it may well be in liquid form. The main requirement is that the isolated components 15 and 17 of the desired medicinal solution will maintain their desired properties without deterioration when stored in isolation from each other.

Preferably, the secondary container 16 is not completely filled with solute 17, and the internal pressure established is not in excess of atmospheric.

At the time of use of the medicinal solution, the pistontype closure 13 is axially shifted relative to the primary container 10 or 10a to produce an increased fluid pressure within the primary liquid reservoir 14. Such shifting movement of the piston closure 13 may, of course, be produced by hand or, with the modification of Figures l-3, is preferably produced by the operating plunger (not shown) of a conventional hypodermic syringe. For this purpose, the piston closure 13 may be provided with an axial projection 13a, which is engaged by such operating plunger.

In any event, the axial movement of the closure 13 toward the other closed end of the primary container increases the fiuid pressure within such container to a sulficient extent to fracture a -wall portion of the secondary container 16. This produces an immediate release of the medicinal solute 17 and its rapid dissolution in the solvent 15. With the construction of Figures l-3, the resulting solution may then be forced through the hypodermic needle (not shown) of the syringe which penetrates the closure plug 11, or, in modification of Figure 4, the solution may be drawn into a separate hypodermic syringe by breaking the closed end of the ampul-like primarycontainer 10a.

From the foregoing description, it is clearly apparent that this invention provides a two-compartment medicinal package of utmost simplicity and manufacturing economy and yet permits the convenient intermixture of the materials contained in the isolated compartments at the time of use.

We claim:

A medicinal package comprising a primary tubular container, a fiuidtight closure for one end of said primary container, a piston-type closure slidably mounted in the other end of said primary container, thereby defining an enclosed liquid reservoir intermediate said closures adapted to be substantially filled with a medicinal solvent, and a secondary sealed container disposed within said liquid reservoir, said secondary container having dimensions substantially less than any corresponding dimension of said liquid reservoir, whereby said secondary container is freely movable within said liquid reservoir, said secondary container having a wall portion formed of readily frangible material insoluble in said medicinal solvent, said secondary container being adapted to contain a medicinal solute at an internal pressure not in excess of atmospheric, whereby axial movement of said piston-type closure toward said one end of said primary container produces sufiicient pressure within said liquid reservoir to fracture said frangible wall portion and produce dissolution of said medicinal solute by said solvent.

Smith Feb. 9, 1926 Brown Aug. 19, 1952 

